New York Yankees: Five Encouraging Signs for the Future
By Sean Dyer
Aaron Judge Continues to Bounce Back Whenever He’s Down
Like with any season, especially a rookie season, Aaron Judge had a few slumps this year. After each slump, however, Judge came back stronger than ever.
Judge’s first half was legendary. He hit .329/.448/.691 with 30 HR and 66 RBI. Judge then topped off the incredible first half of his debut season by winning the Home Run Derby.
Whether participating in the Home Run Derby effected his game or not, Judge was not the same to start the second half.
Experiencing the first major slump of his career, Judge just couldn’t put the ball in play. He hit .230 in July and .185 in August and had just seven second-half home runs heading into September.
Judge continued to draw walks and contributed by getting on base and playing great defense but there was wonder whether the league had figured him out.
Just when people were counting him out, Judge broke out in September. He hit .311/.463/.889 with 15 HR and 32 RBI. Judge hit more homers and drove in more runs in the final month of the regular season than in any other month. Things were looking good heading into the playoffs.
Judge started off his postseason career with a bang. In the AL Wild Card Game, Judge went 2-4 with a home run, a walk, drove in two runs, and scored three times. Then, all of a sudden, came slump number two.
In the seven games following the AL Wild Card (the entire ALDS and the first two games of the ALCS), Judge went 2-27 (.074) with just two RBI and 19 strikeouts. He was a strikeout machine!
Yes, his defense was still great but Judge wasn’t getting on base. All he saw were fastballs up and in and breaking balls low and away. Judge couldn’t touch any of it.
However, as he did in the regular season when pitchers adjusted to Judge, he readjusted to them. In the next four games, Judge went 5-13 (.385) with two doubles, three homers, and seven RBI.
Continuing to see Aaron Judge adjust and get himself out of any slump is encouraging for the future. He’s one of the MLB’s best sluggers and he’s here to stay. Even as pitchers find holes in his swing, Judge will fix those weaknesses and keep on hitting.
Having a middle-of-the-order slugger who finds ways to get on base and can adjust as the season goes along is encouraging for the future of the New York Yankees.